The Crypto Analysts Cracking Organized Crime | Jonathan Levin

Hold These Truths with Dan Crenshaw

Dan Crenshaw

Politics, Energy, Healthcare, News, World, Society & Culture, Regulations, Finance, America, Freedom

4.6 • 16K Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jonathan Levin is the co-founder and CEO of Chainanalysis, a crypto investigations company that analyzes blockchain data to track down cartels, terror financiers, and cybercriminals. He joined Rep. Crenshaw to talk about how criminal networks and hostile regimes use crypto to finance operations, move drugs, and evade sanctions. They cover the crypto legislation which passed in Congress last week. And Jonathan gives a high-level overview of how blockchains and stablecoins work. A comprehensive episode for anyone interested in the promises and perils of digital assets like Bitcoin.

Prior to starting Chainanaylsis, Jonathan was the CEO of Coinometrics, a company focused on blockchain intelligence. He also worked as a postgraduate economist researching cryptocurrencies at the University of Oxford. Find Jonathan on X at @jony_levin.

Transcript

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0:00.0	We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created. As a member of Congress, I get to have a lot of really interesting people in the office. Experts on what they're talking about. This is the podcast for insights into the issues. China, bioterrorism, Medicare for all, in-depth discussions. Breaking it down into simple terms. We hold... We hold these truths. We hold these truths.
0:21.2	With Dan Crenshaw.
0:22.2	The angle has landed.
0:24.8	All right, welcome back folks to hold these truths.
0:28.3	I'm diving into a topic today that is usually wrapped in buzzwords, some hype, a little bit of
0:33.6	confusion. It's also underneath it all as a matter of national security. We're talking
0:39.1	about blockchain and cryptocurrency. So, of course, a lot of people think crypto is just for
0:43.7	criminals, that a lot of people don't. A lot of people think it provides financial freedom.
0:49.1	But today we're going to talk about the criminal aspect of it with our guest here today.
0:52.5	So because the truth is it is
0:55.0	used criminally by both states and entities like cartels, terrorists, China, Iran, North Korea.
1:03.0	So my guest today is Jonathan Levin. He's the co-founder of Chain Analysis. Jonathan, welcome.
1:08.0	Thanks for having me. It's great to be here. Thanks for being here. Thanks for being here.
1:16.3	And you're coming from London, so appreciate it. I hope you didn't come all the way just for this lame podcast, but I've been in the US for 10 years. Okay. We're headquartered in New York City.
1:21.4	Okay. I'm very familiar with the Amtrak down to D.C. Well, I appreciate you coming down and
1:26.3	and doing this with us. So you have a company
1:30.3	called Chain Analysis, works directly with U.S. law enforcement and intelligence that track down
1:34.6	specifically fentanyl traffickers, terrorist financiers, cybercriminals using blockchain data.
1:43.1	So, I mean, let's get into it.
1:47.0	I think the first I like to go with the basics first. Like, what the heck is blockchain?
1:49.9	Like, how do I find a blockchain?
1:51.7	Yeah.
	...

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